Politics Grabs The Attention

The attention of many Americans is already being grabbed at by those who are running for the various political offices of our state and nation. I have been getting robo-calls from politicians for about two months now and we don't vote until November of 2012, eleven months away. It seems every time we do this the political season gets longer and longer. The man in the White House has never stopped campaigning for a second term, from day one of his administration. Of course, as an American, that is his right and we all acknowledge that he is not the first to do such a thing..

There has been a struggle among those states who want to be the first to hold a primary election or a caucus, and the outcome of all the wrangling is that in order to remain first in line Iowa has had to move their election to early January. It appears they were willing to move it even earlier just to remain first in line. It matters not to anyone, it appears, that the winner of Iowa's caucus almost never wins the presidency. If they did we might have president Mike Huckabee today, because he won last time.

It is amusing to watch all the Republican candidates jockey for position, each trying desperately to win Iowa without giving a thought to the fact that doing so means absolutely nothing in the long run. All it does is give a short burst of momentum, which usually ends when someone else wins the next stop, New Hampshire. A new twist has been added this go round, in that all the candidates seem to be making a pilgrimage to Donald Trump's office, seeking his endorsement. Trump may be a wealthy man, and he may swing a few votes here and there, but to kiss the ring of this clown simply makes the candidates look foolish. All except Ron Paul and John Huntsman, that is. They have correctly refused to cow-tow to this oaf.

The Libertarian branch of the Republican party seems to be growing in influence. Ron Paul has never been anything but a libertarian, running on that ticket several times, without success, before he decided to run as a Republican and got elected. He is no more a real Republican that Mao Tse Tung. It is just more convenient to run as a Republican, because he could never get elected to anything running as a Libertarian. Yet, he has a growing influence on the Republican primary process. Go figure.

All the Re[publican candidates, except John Hunstman, have baggage that will probably keep them from winning against President Obama. Many Southern Baptists are going to have a difficult time deciding between two Mormons (Romney and Huntsman) and a Catholic (Gingrich). Gingrich used to be a Southern Baptist but became a Catholic so he could marry his third wife. See what I mean about baggage?

Now that Cain is out, we are left to decide who is the real conservative in the race. Santorum, Perry, Bachman, and Huntsman are all genuine conservatives, although all but Hunstman and possibly Santorum come with some heavy baggage. Paul is not a conservative in the true sense of the word. As I said, he is a Libertarian, and that brings some stuff most conservatives cannot live with.

It is really difficult to predict this year's races. The Tea Party has thrown in interesting monkey wrench into the machinery. They are a force to be reckoned with, regardless of what you think about their tenets. They will have an influence on the race, as will that clown, Grover Norquist, who has wrangled a no-new-tax pledge out of nearly all the Republican candidates. All of them except Hunstman have signed their name to that pledge, which means it is going to be really difficult for them to lead the country to balance its budget, if they are fortunate enough to get elected.

Yes, politics has gotten our attention, but making a decision is getting harder and harder.